Gujarat Lose by Solitary Run
The Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament got off to a thrilling start in Indore on Friday. In the first clash of the day, Jharkhand won their Super League Group A match by one run after Gujarat failed to score off the final delivery of the match.
Batting first, Jharkhand, who topped the tables in the Group stage, posted 148/7 with skipper Ishan Kishan blazing 39 off 19 balls with two sixes and five fours. The match was reduced to 18 overs because of a damp pitch. The Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper put on 82 runs for the opening wicket with Anand Singh in 7.2 overs. Singh top-scored with 36-ball 45.
India and Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel kept the chase alive scoring 24-ball 28 in the company of Karan Patel (35) after they had slumped to 9/2 in their chase.
Needing six off the last ball bowled by Jharkhand’s Vikash Singh, Chirag Gandhi (23 off 13 balls) only managed an edge past the keeper for four as Gujarat faltered.
Gujarat opener Anand chipped in with the ball as well, taking 2/26 to bag the Man-of-the-Match award.
Karnataka Thrash Mumbai by 9 Wickets
Having taken over the captaincy from the injured Ajinkya Rahane, Mumbai skipper Shreyas Iyer had the worst possible start as his side collapsed like a pack of cards against Karnataka and lost the tie by 9 wickets.
It was all downhill from the second ball of the match for Mumbai as they lost Prithvi Shaw for a duck and never really recovered from that. Akash Parkar top scored for Mumbai with 22 while Iyer (10), Suryakumar Yadav (14) and Siddhesh Lad (13) were among those who squandered starts.
Mumbai however huffed and puffed their way through the 20 overs and posted 97.
In response, Karnataka had absolutely no trouble as they romped home to a comfortable win in 13.2 overs.
Rohan Kadam and BR Sharath (25) put on a 79-run opening partnership before Sharath was dismissed by Lad.
Kadam, who eventually finished unbeaten on 62 smashed eight boundaries and one six while Mayank Agarwal (7) kept him company at the other end.
Vidarbha Crush Delhi
Umesh Yadav warmed up for IPL-12 with a lively burst for the Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in the Group B Super League clash in Indore. Yadav put Delhi on the back foot from the very first over by sending back Unmukt Chand for a second-ball duck. Vidarbha cruised to a nine-wicket win in their first Super League fixture.
Delhi, who finished in second place in the Group stage to progress, were bundled out for 83 in 16.2 overs. More than half of those runs came off the blade of opener Hiten Dalal, who score 42 off 34 balls with three sixes and two fours.
Dalal’s knock led a partial revival after Delhi had slid to 20/5 in the fifth over. He put on 54 runs for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Pawan Negi (18) but once the latter was dismissed the innings folded up rapidly.
Vidarbha bowlers including Yadav (2/10), Shrikant Wagh (2/12), Yash Thakur (2/13) and ambidextrous Akshay Karnewar (2/14) shared the wickets among them.
Chasing 84 to win, Vidarbha overhauled the target in just 8.3 overs. Opener Jitesh Sharma blazed 41 off 24 balls and put on 73 runs for the first wicket with Akshay Taide (32 off 22 balls) in just 7 overs. For Delhi, Navdeep Saini bowled at rapid pace touching 145 kph but without any luck.
Goswami Guides Bengal Past Railways
Bengal’s Shreevats Goswami made up for the failure of Wriddhiman Saha to guide his team to a six-wicket win over Railways in a Super League Group A clash. Saha, who opened along with Goswami, was dismissed for a duck in the opening over.
Batting first, Railways were restricted to 142/6 with Ashish Yadav top-scoring with 51 off 44 balls. Yadav and Prashant Gupta (39 off 31 balls) put on 46 runs for third wicket to lay a solid foundation for Railways but they failed to capitalize.
For Bengal, medium-pacer Sayan Ghosh (2/26) was the pick of the bowlers while Ashok Dinda (1/19) also bowled an impressive spell.
Chasing 143 to win, Goswami settled down after the early loss of Saha. He put on 95 runs for the second wicket with Abhimanyu Easwaran (46 off 35 balls). Goswami completed his fifty off only 36 balls.
He was finally dismissed for 80 with only four needed for a victory which Bengal completed with 11 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
Jharkhand 148/7 bt Gujarat 147/8
Delhi 83 lost to Vidarbha 85/1 in 8.3 ovs
Railways 142/6 lost to Bengal 143/4 in 18.1 ovs
Mumbai 97/9 lost to Karnataka 98/1 in 13.2 ovs